1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a device and method for identifying an object at least partially covered by a transparent material.
2. Background Information
Background information is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily admit that subsequently mentioned information and publications are prior art.
The present application relates to a method and device for identifying an object covered by a transparent layer at least in some sections by determining a surface property.
The method and device according to the present application may possibly be used as a deterrent to counterfeiting, smuggling, and black market sales of products, such as cartons and/or packs of cigarettes. In the European Union (EU), the illegal tobacco trade is a significant problem that costs governments billions in lost tax revenue. The taxes on cigarettes differ substantially from nation to nation in the EU and neighboring countries. For example, a pack of cigarettes in the United Kingdom may cost nine euros or more, whereas a pack of cigarettes in Ukraine may cost as little as one euro. It is therefore quite profitable for smugglers to obtain cigarettes in a lower-price country, such as Ukraine, and then sell them for a substantial profit in a higher-price country, such as the United Kingdom. Governments have tried to develop measures to counteract this illegal trade, with one such method being the tax stamp. The tax stamp identifies that the appropriate taxes for the country in which a product is being sold have been paid to that country's taxing authority. In many countries, it is a requirement that a tax stamp be affixed to a carton of cigarettes before the carton is wrapped in cellophane or similar transparent outer covering, such as a plastic. Such a system ensures that the appropriate taxes are paid at the time of manufacture and packaging of the cigarettes. In addition, the tax stamp serves as a quick identification mark so that purchasers, retailers, and government personnel can quickly identify illegal or smuggled products. However, smugglers have attempted to circumvent this system by developing counterfeit tax stamps, or by illegally obtaining a supply of legitimate tax stamps. The scheme is quite simple: cigarettes are produced in a lower-price country, then a counterfeit or fraudulent tax stamp of a higher-price country is applied to the cigarettes, and finally the cigarettes are sold in the higher-price country. To the average person, it will appear that the taxes on the cigarettes have been paid, and thus the cigarettes may be legally sold, even though no taxes were ever paid, and the profit goes to the smugglers rather than the government. It would therefore be beneficial to develop other means, in addition to or in place of tax stamp identification, to detect counterfeit or illegal cigarettes, in order to recover the lost tax revenue.
The surfaces of objects which are principally the same can be differentiated from one another by adequately precise or essentially precise or general examination. This applies in part already to the macroscopic range, but in any event in the microscopic range. In the final analysis, therefore, no two objects are completely identical.
For identifying objects, for example for examining their origin or authenticity, one could utilize a method, for example, of determining property parameters of a surface section of the object, and converting these into one or more characteristic digital values, i.e. properties of the natural surface are scanned and determined, in order from these to derive measured values which in turn correspond to digital values, which are characteristic for the surface.
The detection of the surface property may be rendered difficult, however, for example by different lighting conditions between the original determination of the parameters and at a subsequent examination procedure, since, for example, the light impinging on the surface produces reflections on the surface of the object, which are dependent on the lighting conditions. Moreover, for example, the positioning of the object at the first time that the property parameters are recorded and at a further examination may be different, with the result that different reflections are likewise caused by this, which could influence the data determined in each case.
The property parameters which are determined therefore, frequently do not correspond to the surface of the object itself, but are heavily influenced by the different surrounding surfaces. A comparison of the original data set and the data set determined for examination can therefore lead to errors in identification.